Joelle Khoury facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Joelle Khoury
Background information
Born	Beirut, Lebanon
Genres	Jazz, Contemporary classical music
Occupation(s)	Pianist, Composer, Lecturer.
Years active	1995–present

Joelle Khoury is a talented Lebanese-American musician. She is a pianist and a composer. She creates both jazz music and contemporary classical music.

Her Story

Joelle Khoury was born in Beirut, Lebanon. When the Lebanese Civil War began, she moved to the United States. There, she studied at George Mason University in Virginia. She earned degrees in Economics and Musicology.

Later, Joelle returned to Lebanon. She continued her studies there. She earned a Master's Degree in Philosophy from Saint Joseph University. She also received a piano diploma from the Lebanese Higher Conservatory of Music.

Joelle has been invited to special programs in many countries. These include France, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and the United States. In 2013, she was a fellow at the MacDowell Colony. This is where she worked on her multimedia show called Palais de femmes.

For nearly 20 years, Joelle has written music. She composes pieces for chamber groups and philharmonic orchestras. She also writes music for her own jazz quintet. Joelle believes that true music comes from a unique idea. It should express the composer's own personality. She feels that music is not just "Western" or "Eastern." She uses any style to create music that represents her. She loves both contemporary classical music and jazz. She also uses electronic sounds in her work.

Her interest in philosophy led her to get a PhD. Her special study was about the philosopher Gilles Deleuze.

Her Music

Joelle Khoury performing "Dream she is" in 2008.

In 1995, Joelle started her jazz group called In-Version. This group plays her original songs. Their music mixes a modern jazz style called bebop with complex counterpoint lines. This means different melodies play at the same time. Songs like "Circles" and "Is it so!" show this style. The background music is just as important as the main tune. She uses this same idea in some of her classical pieces.

In 2008, she wrote an Arabic opera called Dream she is. It was for a woman's voice. The singer was Fadia Tomb El Hage. This opera was first performed in Beirut. It was later played in Austria and Switzerland.

Joelle Khoury and Fadia Tomb el Hage with Gidon Kremer in Austria, 2012.

Joelle also created "Variations on Imaginary Folk Dances." This piece uses traditional Middle Eastern songs. But she arranged them in a modern classical way. The famous Kremerata Baltica orchestra played this piece in 2012. They played it again in Germany in 2014. The piece "Of Memories, Folks and I" was also performed. Both pieces used Middle Eastern folk music. But they sounded very modern. The Lebanese singer Fadia Tomb El Hage sang them.

Another piece, "Morning Star," is a traditional Syriac church song. Joelle rearranged it for a brass quintet. She also wrote "Getting Along." This is a concerto for two marimbas and a string orchestra. It was performed in Italy in 2008.

Joelle has also created multimedia shows. These combine poetry, acting, music, and painting. Some examples are Senghor, Électroésie, and Palais de femmes.

Albums

Jazz

• Tumbling up, In-Version, the Joelle Khoury Quintet. Released in 1999.
• Is it so!, In-Version, the Joelle Khoury Quintet. Released in 2005.
• Beirut Jazz 2020, In-Version, the Joelle Khoury Quintet. Released in 2020.

Classical and opera

• Music and poetry, Eleven chamber orchestra and voice pieces. These are based on German romantic poetry. Recorded live in 2003.
• Dream she is, Arabic opera monodrama for woman's voice. This work is for Alto voice, five soloists, and electronics.

Songs on Other Albums

• Arabian Fantasy In Blue, A piece for flute, cello, and piano. Commissioned by the Meinenger Trio in 2013.
• Anta al Waheed (The one and only), A polyphonic piece based on poetry by Al Hallaj. It mixes modern style with a hint of oriental music.
• Vers le Soleil Bleu, from the album Masarat, 2020.
• Zarqa'a A Shamsu, from the album Masarat, 2020.

Other Performances

• Sleep, A piece for choir, organ, and timpani. It was performed in 2004 at the American University of Beirut.
• Soliloquy, A symphonic piece with three movements. The Lebanese National Symphony Orchestra performed it in 2005.
• Aaah!..., A composition dedicated to John Cage. It was recorded live in 2006.
• Alone Together 2, For qanun, cello, and violin. This piece was recorded in Germany in 2011.
• Moods Rhythms and Changes, For three percussionists, cello, and piano. Commissioned in 2011.
• Ala Dal'ona, A Middle Eastern folk song arranged for two pianos. It was performed in the USA in 2011 and 2017.
• Just Hold Me Tight, A solo violin piece. It mixes oriental scales with modern atonal music. Recorded in 2012.
• Tidbits, A series of short variations on a theme inspired by a Middle Eastern chant, 2018.

Articles She Wrote

Joelle Khoury has also published several articles, including:

• "Times Goes One Way - Against the Classification of Arts".
• "Die Geschichte - Ein göttliches Gedicht" ("History, a divine poem"). This article connects Bach's music to Leibniz's Monadology.
• "The Body Without Organs... said the Eye to the Ear". This article looks at ideas from Gilles Deleuze in works by Sophocles, Mann, Beckett, and Süskind.

See also

• Women in jazz
• Women in music